Midland losses narrow as new homes sales rebound
Turnover rises 8.1pc but the company chairman says he expects the second half to remain hard
A sharp rebound in sales of new homes and cost control measures helped Hong Kong's only listed realtor, Midland Holdings, to cut losses by more than half in the first six months of the year.
Chairman Freddie Wong Kin-yip, however, said he expected the second half to remain difficult given the decline in property transactions.
Midland narrowed its net loss by 62.4 per cent from a year ago to HK$35.78 million, it reported yesterday. Turnover - mostly commission fees - rose 8.13 per cent to HK$1.86 billion from HK$1.72 billion as developers launched new projects at steep discounts.
Last week, Midland initiated legal action against its second-largest shareholder, real estate fund Apex Benchmark, and its chief operating officer Bondy Mau Wang-bong, for defamation. Mau had criticised Midland management - dominated by Wong and his family - for doing a bad job and overpaying itself.
"In the property agency industry, it's now survival of the strongest and the competition is expected to remain this tough for some time," Wong said after announcing the results.
He forecast home prices to remain flat in the second half after increasing 3 per cent in the first.
"We have seen buoyant sales of mass homes mainly because of the release of pent-up demand after the government's adjustments in the double stamp duty. But the question is, how long will it last? The market outlook remains uncertain."